When AI names a franchise brand in Raleigh, 7 times out of 10 it doesn't say which location.
In September 2026 I asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity 10 local questions in franchise-heavy categories: restoration, cleaning, HVAC, pest control, junk removal, tutoring, massage, urgent care, swim lessons and fitness. Then I counted every time a national brand was named, and whether a location came with it.
You keep the report either way.
No brand owns a category
104 businesses were named across 5 home service questions. Nobody appeared in more than a third of answer slots. The median business appeared in 6.7%, once out of 15.
Where the 104 land
Businesses by share of the 15 answer slots.
71 of the 104 were named in exactly one answer. Local independents and franchise locations are competing for the same 3 slots.
Consumer categories look the same
91 businesses were named across tutoring, massage, urgent care, swim lessons and fitness. The leaders sit at 20%.
Swim lessons put Aqua-Tots and British Swim School next to local schools. Massage went to independents.
Who wins each category
Cleaning, pest control, water damage and junk removal put national brands in the top 3. HVAC and massage went to local independents. Either way, the answer rarely names your location.
The brand gets named. The location doesn't.
Across 30 answers I counted 271 business mentions. 100 were national brands. 70 of those named the brand alone, like Orkin, Mathnasium or Molly Maid, with no location attached. When that happens, the customer still has to find a location on their own.
What the audit returns for you
The market numbers above are public. Yours are specific: which of your locations the engines name, which get the brand without the location, and which lose to a local independent.
Location-level share of voice
The same measurement run for every location, not just the brand.
Brand vs. location
How often the engines name you with a location attached, market by market.
Who takes the answer locally
The independents and competing brands named in your place, per market.
Which location pages get read
Which pages the engines can use, and which are thin templates they skip.
Find out how your locations resolve.
20 minutes. I'll have run your numbers before we speak, and you keep the report whether we work together or not.